Language Services

Our district serves a large number of students from families that speak languages other than English in the home. We offer several different programs to meet the needs of these students.

The following is a list of English Language programs available in KCPS and the locations where they are housed. Please be aware that availability of these programs is based on student demographics and staffing and is, therefore, subject to change.

Co-Teaching:

ELL students in elementary schools are mainstreamed into regular classrooms and receive co-teaching services from an ESOL certified teacher. This teacher may work with students individually, small group or whole group in concert with the mainstream teacher to provide English language instruction to the ELL students. This program focuses on building academic language to support the district Core Curriculum with the goal of assisting students to succeed in the mainstream classroom.

This program is available at the following elementary schools: Carver, Faxon, Foreign Language Academy, Garcia, Garfield, Gladstone, James, Longfellow, Melcher, Pitcher, Rogers, Trailwoods, Wheatley and Whittier

Pull-Out

ELL students in elementary schools are mainstreamed into regular classrooms. Those students that are classed as 'entering' in grades 2-6 will receive limited pull-out services from an ESOL certified teacher. Students in grades 4-6 that are still' beginners' are also eligible for pull-out services. These sessions will concentrate on pre-teaching academic language related to class content. This program focuses on building academic language to support the district Core Curriculum with the goal of assisting students to succeed in the mainstream classroom.

This program is available at the following elementary schools: Carver, Foreign Language Academy, Faxon, Garcia, Garfield, Gladstone, James, Longfellow, Melcher, Pitcher, Rogers, Trailwoods, Wheatley and Whittier

Sheltered English for grades 7-12:

At the secondary level, students are placed in English I, II, III (beginning, intermediate, or advanced) or Intensive English, depending on their level of language proficiency. Students in these classes receive Communication Arts (reading, writing, language) instruction that follows the district core curriculum and ELP (English Language Proficiency) Grade Level Expectations. The ESOL certified teachers in these classrooms provide adaptations to instruction, materials and assessment to match the students’ language levels.

This program is available at the following schools: East High School, Northeast High School (only English III and Intensive English) and Southwest High School (only English III).

Sheltered Math, Science and Social Studies for grades 7-12:

Beginning and intermediate ELL students are placed in sheltered content area classes. Advanced students proceed to mainstream content classes for their content instruction. Teachers in the sheltered classes hold dual certifications, in the content they are teaching and ESOL. These classes use the same core curriculum as mainstream classes; however, the ESOL certified teachers in these classrooms are responsible for modifying the instruction, materials and assessment to make the content comprehensible and accessible to their English language learners. The goal of the sheltered content classroom is to teach the students the academic language needed to process the content along with the content itself. Sheltered classes are offered in Algebra, Geometry, Physical Science, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, American History, World History, Economics and American Government.

This program is available at East High School.

New Americans Program for grades K-12:

Students placed in the New Americans program have:

Little or no experience with the English language,

Little or no formal education in their home country,

Not become literate in their native language, or

Not been to school in the last two or more years.

These students are placed in the New Americans Program for English, literacy and content development. All instruction is given in English by an ESOL certified teacher and the students typically stay in the program for one to two years. The goal of the New Americans class is to help newcomers adapt to the new school environment, start the process of becoming literate in English and learn enough English and content to be able to move onto the next level of classroom instruction. In Elementary schools, the newcomer will move up into a mainstream classroom and receive support from another ELL teacher using the pull-out and/or co-teaching method. In High school the newcomer will move up to ESL I (Sheltered English), and be introduced to Math, Science and Social Studies through sheltered classroom instruction.

This program is available at the following schools: Whittier and Gladstone Elementary Schools and East High School.

Long Term ELL Program (7-12):

Students placed in this program:

Have been in country 6 or more years

Read 2 or more years below grade level

Show little to no growth on state and district assessments

These students receive a block of Communication Arts instruction from a certified ESL teacher. One half of the block is dedicated to a strategic oral and academic language development. The other half the students receive a modified grade level version of the district Communication Arts curriculum.

Long-term ELL classes are available at the following locations:

East High School

Northeast High School

Dual Language Program:

The dual language program model provides instruction to students in two languages, English and Spanish. The program integrates language minority students and language majority students for much of the instructional day, and provides content instruction and literacy instruction in both languages. The 50/50 model is utilized with paired teachers (a bilingual teacher and a mainstream teacher).

Immersion Method:

Immersion is a method of instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught in the target language. The foreign language is the vehicle for instruction; it is not the subject of instruction. Beginning in kindergarten, teachers and students communicate in the target foreign language. It quickly becomes second nature.

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Kansas City Public Schools

2901 Troost Ave. Kansas City, MO 64109

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The Kansas City 33 School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other factor prohibited by law in its programs and activities. If you believe you have been subject to discrimination or harassment, or if you have any inquiries regarding the District's non-discrimination policies, please contact the Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Coordinator at 2901 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO 64109 or send an email. Our Policy